China Dec new loans 584.4 bln yuan, far below expectations

Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted new yuan loans of 1 trillion yuan, down from November’s 1.12 trillion yuan.

Broad M2 money supply in December grew 8.2 percent from a year earlier, central bank data showed on Friday, missing forecasts for an expansion of 9.1 percent.

Outstanding yuan loans at the end of December grew 12.7 percent from a year earlier, slower than an expected 13.1 percent rise.

China’s total new loans hit a record 13.53 trillion yuan in 2017, exceeding 12.65 trillion yuan in 2016, despite a government drive to reduce risks in the financial system that has pushed up borrowing costs. ($1 = 6.4733 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Cheng Fang and Kevin Yao; Editing by Sam Holmes)